Designing kitchen backsplashes is one of my favorite challenges. Usually one of the last elements of a new kitchen to be installed, it can make or break the overall design. The integration of color and texture, the choice and quality of materials, and of course the design theme all come together to create a functionally useful and aesthetically pleasing kitchen focal point. Here are several backsplashes I’ve finished recently, with different materials, patterns and goals. Above is a renovated kitchen in South Orange that contains extensive architectural detail, so I designed the backsplash in an understated way to compliment these details. The use of metal accents against the stone tile adds dimension to the design. On the right is in a guesthouse kitchen in the Adirondacks. It takes as inspiration the idea of a picture frame. The frame is made-up of frosted glass tiles, accentuated by a border of mosaic tiles. The field within the frame is made of brick tile shape stone. In a larger kitchen this look would be overpowering; in this small kitchen it’s just right. On the left is a project in a Short Hills kitchen whose goal was to combine both timelessness and practicality. The materials used were ceramic glazed tiles and a combination of Carrera marble and black granite as accents and details.

If you have any questions or comments about backsplashes, please send them to me by clicking on Ask Catherine, near the top of the column to the right of this post. All three of these projects featured tile sourced at Short Hills Marble and Tile, my collaborator of many years. You can find them on the web at www.shorthillstile.com

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